Chapter 237 (I deleted two chapters before settling on this one, let me know what you think :P) (Patreon)

Chapter 237

Drums.

Drums echoed in the dark.

A blast of strange, azure-blue colored mana with an unfamiliar origin in the Unholy Foundation tore through the halls.  Her eyes went wide mid-sprint and she was sent blasting across the stone laden with ancient texts, crashing into a pillar and spinning rapidly in the air until she cratered into the opposite end.

Coughing up blood and snapping one arm back into place, her body smoldered with wisps of that same azure blue - and she had to send a pulse of death through her body to clear it off her armor and skin.  Her vision swayed, and she caught herself with another cough as a loud boom shook the halls amidst screams, roars, and the beating of drums.

“RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

A large, salamander-like creature lacking eyes or a back set of legs tackled her to the ground, using huge black claws to pin her down while its open maw snapped shut on one arm.

The bone armor underneath its grip held firm, and with a snarl Allie’s left fist swung around and crashed into the monster’s skull.

An explosion of death mana radiated out from her fist, and two more snapping jabs ripped open the facial bones of the beast before it let out a gurgling hiss and fell to the side.

“Shit!  Why are there so many of them!?”

Wounds where she’d been burned, cut, and bruised were still healing with her natural regenerative properties - the latest of which were two shallow gashes where the black fangs of the salamander had found a gap.

Unclasping a small pouch along her hip and downing a vial of red liquid, she let the soothing concoction trickle down her throat.  Energy flowed back into her, but the amount of potions she’d taken now was building into what the alchemists called ‘elixir toxicity’.  The effectiveness was going down, and a sickening feeling in her gut had begun to make her feel nauseated.

Trying to stabilize herself as the hall shook around her yet again, she blinked rapidly when three pale blue figures broke through the frontline fighting and sprinted her way.

Her wand let out a shrill scream as the soul within lit aflame, and her hand lifted - accompanied by dozens of deathly threads that ripped and tore the precursors down akin to a gatling gun.  Pale blood sprayed from their bodies as they were hit numerous times, littered with holes until their legs gave out from underneath them one by one - splattering their corpses onto the floor.

She whipped around, swinging her leg in a blurring horizontal kick.

*CRUNCH*

The mutant’s face snapped left, but it staggered back to a standing position.  One pale eye on its twisted, ugly face settled on her, and a monkey-like tail snapped around - sparking against her skull mask and knocking her backwards.

Smacking hard into the stone wall, she summoned a deathball and lunged underneath a swing that shattered a portion of the wall behind her.  Flipping over another tail swipe, she launched the death ball directly into the open maw of the screaming creature and ruptured its insides - causing the beast to explode in a shower of gore.

Allie landed on her feet, stumbled, and created two more skeletal minions from nearby corpses before commanding them to the front where her allies were still battling the frontrunners of the oncoming hordes.

Three of her necromancers were dead, one of their corpses being paraded in the back of enemy lines over their heads amidst loud chanting - while two more lay in ripped, crumpled mounds of mutilated flesh, bone and cloth nearby.

To their front were building enemies.

To their sides were stone hallways.

And to their backs was a giant, black pit so deep that even Allie’s own dark-attuned eyesight couldn’t see the bottom.

They were trapped.

“ALLIE!  WE WON’T BE ABLE TO HOLD FOR MUCH LONGER!” Mara yelled over the din of battle, summoning a flock of shadow-made crows that swarmed the oncoming enemy tide - adding to the skeletons, zombies and other undead creatures the necromancers of the necropolis were throwing into the fray.  “TELL US WHAT TO DO!”

Tell us what to do?

Allie could barely even hold herself up, and was only doing so through sheer force of will.  Her mana was waning, only sustaining itself by drawing in on the sheer amount of death around her, and she wasn’t nearly as good as Riven was in utilizing environmental mana anyways.

They’d killed hundreds of these creatures, she’d blown all her major abilities including Miasmic Roar and Eye of the Scythe.  Her minions were being cut down just as fast as they made them at a retreating pace, and they were being killed faster now that they had nowhere to retreat to.  And where was Fimrindle during all of this?

She took in a deep breath, staring down what had once been a tunnel, and closed her eyes.

No.  She could not give in to despair.  Not here.

Not ever.

Her mind entered a state of tranquility, as the souls around her began to whisper in her ear.  They told her it was going to be alright, and that they would help her overcome this obstacle.  They were her friends, they were her protectors, and she need not worry.

Her body lifted slightly off the ground, and the roar of battle grew louder as a huge bull-like creature with horns and dozens of curved, sharp teeth barreled through two zombies and tackled one of the robed ghoul necromancers - opening up the front line for the rest of the vampiric precursors to funnel in.

Nin’s hissing curse simultaneously let out as he snapped one of his skeletal fingers, causing three of his plague-ridden zombies to explode forward and blow back numerous enemies in a single go.

Vin followed suit, doing the same thing and causing torrents of rapidly-spreading plague to settle on the hall ahead of them while the brothers continued throwing out orbs of dark green miasma.

Mara’s arm extended and blasted the creature trying to eat the ghoul underneath it, sending out a beam of black light that caused the monster to shrivel and die with an agonizing scream.  “ALLIE!  ALLIE WH-”

She turned her head, only to gawk at the sight behind her.

Allie’s figure was six feet off the floor in a meditative state, hands clasped together, eyes closed, legs pointed directly down, a billowing cloud of death mana being collected from their surroundings and building into a roaring storm that began to shake the underground complex more and more.  Souls began leaking into Panu from the beyond, whispering in an audible wave of sound that soon turned into a shrill scream.  A ghostly form unlike any other Mara had ever seen then stepped out of the ether, a pale naked woman with black eyes and giant unfolding wings.  A halo burned over her head, and she whispered into Allie’s ear in a language Mara couldn’t understand.

Despite Allie being her friend, Mara took an involuntary step back - wide eyed and staring.  “What in the hells?”

Vin’s scream of pain caused Mara to whirl back around, and her dead heart clenched when she saw his lower half torn off with the afterimage of a large axe trailing through the air.  In front of her was the first of nearly two-dozen heavily armored warriors.  Each of them had bronze-plate mail adorning their pale blue bodies.  Blocky, Aztec-like decorations were carved into the ancient armor - and each of them had various types of axes and broadswords accompanied by bulky circular shields.

Mara’s teeth grit together, and with a ‘Banshee’s Wail’ that echoed through the hallways in a radiating, bouncing storm of sound - she stunned the entire oncoming horde for a couple seconds and allowed herself to pull Vin’s body backwards.  Simultaneously her swarm of crows rapidly closed in on the gap in the front line - and two skeletal assassins writhing with black shadow energy snapped out of her shadow and sank daggers into the eye sockets and underarm weak spots of the warrior’s armor.

Then the battle reset, and the horde that’d been pushed back due to her area of effect spell began regaining ground.

*BOOM*

An explosion of azure-blue wisps ripped through five skeletons and obliterated one of the necropolis necromancers, causing half his body to disintegrate on impact and not even allowing time for him to scream.

“ALLIE!”  Mara screeched over the clammer of claws, bone, and metal crashing into one another - and prepared a barrier to intercept yet another of those azure orbs - sending shockwaves back into the oncoming horde with the repelling of their attack.  “ALLIE WE NEED YOU!!!”

***

Fimrindle watched, awestruck and eager, as the breakthrough finally took hold.  Allie’s desperation had finally pushed the seed through into fruition, and he rasped out a wheezing cackle from the shadows above her.

She fit all the requirements, he just knew she could do it!

The world rumbled as The Scythe took notice of the once in a lifetime event, and Fimrindle felt the awe-inspiring presence of the lord of death settle his gaze upon the scene.  The touch of death incarnate resonated within the reaper, and Fimrindle shuddered in ecstasy when he felt the mental acknowledgement and approval for forcing this set of events into place.

After all, Fimrindle had been the one to lead Allie down this corridor.  To a place where she had no choice but to finally push herself beyond her limits.  It was that, or die - and Fimrindle’s gamble had succeeded.

He’d actually done it.

*WHOOM*

The air turned stale, and Fimrindle felt the presence of yet another ancient being encircling the area.  Only this time, its presence was hostile, overbearing, and he began to gasp - falling from his hiding spot and smashing into the ground where he began to silently spasm.

“You dare take one of my prized possessions from me…” The ancient being whispered into Fimrindle’s mind with a deep, booming voice, and Fimrindle began to scream as the entity began crushing his soul bit by bit.  “You transgress…”

The Scythe intervened, its own presence tearing the other entity off of Fimrindle’s soul forcibly and causing the ether just outside of Panu’s physical realm to quake as the titans clashed.

“The child… is just as much mine… as it is yours…” The Scythe’s raspy echo replied while repairing the damage to Fimrindle’s core in a split second.  “You may have helped create… the vampire, as it is known… in this era… But you forget that it was within my outlines… that you based your genesis…”

Fimrindle watched, dumbstruck, having completely forgotten about Allie’s transcendence upon witnessing the absolute domineering might of the two entities just a single reality away from his own - peering into the beyond as the presence of mounting titans bled through.

“All undead are mine to take… Should they show themselves proper vessels… to the path…” The Scythe stated in a tone that allowed no disagreement.  “You would do well to remember that… for you too were once my child as well…”

The other entity let out a shudder of angry rage, turning its ire to brush against Fimrindle’s soul one more time.  “That may be, but this is not acceptable.  She has my bloodline, she is mine by right.”

The Scythe let out a long, raspy chuckle that dwindled away into nothingness - a laugh that only Fimrindle and The Blood God could hear.  “Is that so?  Perhaps we should… Let the girl… decide for herself…”

***

Allie saw Mara die.

She saw Nin Die.

Then Vin.

Each of her necromancers fell.

Each of them screamed her name in hopes that she’d save them.

Finally, she saw herself die too - and it was a brutal, painful way to go.

Allie’s eyes snapped open with pale, unnatural light - far different from her regular crimson, and then her eyes dilated.  The world around her abruptly calmed on the fifth replay, slowing down right before the killing blow had struck Mara down - the axe only an inch away from her friend’s wide-eyed, frantic face.  She’d never seen Mara so afraid before.

It fucking infuriated her.

The land around them was tinged in shades of black, red, and gray, and the out-of-body experience halted space all around her as cold, resonating energy rippled across her skin.

Her ethereal body, a replica of her own but without physical representation stood staring at the scene before them - blinking pale glowing eyes and looking down at her floating body with a mixture of mounting fury directed towards the precursors - and intense gratitude when looking at the souls around her.

These  souls… They were her friends.

They were her family.

And they were going to stand with her until the end.

Glancing left to where the only other being able to interact with this strange environment now floated beside her, peering into her out-of-body form, was a ghostly winged woman with pale gray eyes and a deathly halo hovered over her head.

The woman smiled a very familiar smile, and Allie knew that - somehow - she was looking at a reflection of herself.

[Malignant Prophecy has activated.

Desired Action: Extremely High Tier Manipulation.  Current Willpower stat: Incalculable due to potential mutation.  Unable to determine if sufficient Willpower is applicable for desired action.

Overridden.  Performing this act will put your malignant prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time.  Do you wish to proceed?]

“Of course.”

[Desired action: Save yourself, Mara, Vin, Nin, and the remaining necromancers underneath your banner.  Malignant Prophecy’s two options are as follows:

• Option 1:  Create a cave-in and pray to the Blood God for inspiration.  Chance for success:  High.
• Option 2:  Accept your new calling as an Angel of Death and change your race.  This act will both please The Scythe, and infuriate The Blood God.  You will be marked as a fledgling Hero of Death by The Scythe for taking on this role, will irretrievably change the fate of Panu, and will be marked as an Apostate by The Blood God.  This choice will negatively influence your relationship with The Blood Moon Requiem.  Chance for success: Very High.]

Allie’s eyes drifted over the text twice, and out of the corner of her eye - she saw her phantom twin giggle.  “What’s so funny?  And who are you, exactly?”

The phantom angel didn’t reply, only continuing to smile as its warm energy permeated Allie’s soul.  Allie felt it then, the connection, the replica, the complete fit to her own - only better.

This… was her?

A version of her that she could choose.

There’d been no notification given by the system outside her malignant prophecy.

And yet… what exactly was she supposed to do with it?

Bind it?

How?

And did she even want to do so?  Marring her relationship with The Blood Moon Requiem, a powerhouse of the multiverse and her extended family in the process?  By marking herself as an apostate in the eyes of the Blood God?

Her eyes searched the phantom angel’s own, and she felt a pulse from her other half - calling out to her, telling her that she should reach out and grab it.

Or… was it even truly her?  Had it been created as an opportunity by her bloodline?  Or was this apparition something else entirely?

A vision engulfed her mind, and suddenly she was high up in the air on wings as black as night, pale gray eyes glowing against a dark span of clouds underneath a black hood - while a deathly halo of similarly pale gray flames flickered over her head.  In her hands, a giant sword as big as she was lifted to point at an opposing army of holy warriors settling down in trenches, waiting for her to descend - as her legions of the dead stormed the grounds underneath her in a mad rush of fury.  Hundreds of thousands of the dead poured forward like a tidal wave, and out of the enemy ranks - another woman ascended to the skies.

Brilliant golden flames billowed around her silk-laden body, and a sword of her own  shattered the dark skies in a comet of brilliant fire - crashing into the ascending woman’s hands as white wings erupted out of her back.  Her golden eyes and similarly brilliant halo matched Allie’s own in an opposite mirroring, and her long blonde hair trailed out behind her with a flare of power.

Allie recognized this person from the forums.  It was none other than the number 1 Apex ranker on the power forums.  The woman Judith Marcina, Angelic Fallcaller.

The vision ended abruptly as her brief glimpse of the future ended, a possibility of what was to come should she take this new class and ascend into higher ranks of power.

Yet… despite the dread she felt at making so many enemies in her potential ascension, a giddy smile began to combat that dread as excitement overcame her.  Who were they to tell her what she could and could not do?  Who were they to dictate her fate?  Be it gods, mortals, or even her own extended family - no one was the master of her fate other than herself.

“I accept the risks.”

[Desired action has been selected: Option 2:  Accept your new calling as an Angel of Death and change your race.  This act will both please The Scythe, and infuriate The Blood God.  You will be marked as a fledgling Hero of Death by The Scythe for taking on this role, will irretrievably change the fate of Panu, and will be marked as an Apostate by The Blood God.  This choice will negatively influence your relationship with The Blood Moon Requiem.  Chance for success: Very High.]

Immediately time unfroze and the colors of the world went back to more normal hues.  Her ghostly, angelic replica crashed into her body just as her own soul did - igniting a chain reaction as the overlapping upgrade to her soul structure fused and merged.

She screamed, and her Death Subpillar exploded into thousands of fragments as the storm of power around her launched itself forward into the oncoming swarm of vampiric precursors.  The black and teal aura quickly changed to a third, pale gray coloring - and the river of energy swept through the enemy ranks so fast that the oncoming swing meant for Mara’s head was incinerated along with the axe’s wielder.

The walls trembled.

Flesh was torn from bone as thousands of precursors died like flies when the shockwave of pale gray flames engulfed them in a wave unlike anything Allie had conjured from the Death Subpillar before.

Then, there was silence.

Utter silence.

Allie’s mind blanked, and she continued to hover in the air above ground as her soul recreated itself under the guidance of some other-worldly force.  Her bright crimson eyes flickered and died out, replaced by the same pale, glowing gray - as a similarly colored halo created itself over her head.  That too sputtered out flames of its own before absorbing them and remaining as a glowing, metallic circle about a foot over her eyes.  Black wings sprouted from her back, tearing through her bone armor and remodeling it to fit her new appendages as the angelic feathers briefly glittered in the darkness.

The souls swirling around her quickly slowed, almost reverently, as a sigh escaped her lips - power oozing from her very voice and causing the underground passage to warp at the expulsion of excess energy.

Her body flickered, as if a ghost, and Allie slowly raised her hand in the dead silence as her followers looked on in amazement - watching a phantasmal afterimage of herself follow her movements.

Her fangs protruded when she smiled, and then - to her surprise - they entirely fell out, clattering to the floor beneath her when new teeth replaced them.

A scream of rage came next from the beyond, causing the earth around her to tremble for only a split second - until it was abruptly gone, and an explosion of notifications berated her senses.

[Worldwide Message:  A new Hero of Death has been named, and her name is Allie Thane.  For the first time in over 7000 years across the entirety of the multiverse, an Angel of Death has ascended.  Requirements, including 100% affinity to the Death Sub-Pillar, the servitude of a Reaper of Souls, willing subservience and friendly terms with at least 3000 souls in the afterlife, and the status of Undead race have all been met.  May the living tremble in fear upon her approach, for true death now stalks these lands.]

[Worldwide Message:  The Scythe has blessed a portion of Panu.  The entire continent of Umbra, where Brightsville - Capital of the Thane Necropolis is located, has been terraformed in favor of the undead - giving all undead living on Umbra a potent bonus to all stats and passive upkeep while simultaneously debuffing any non-undead present there.  Undead of various species will now randomly spawn on the continent of Umbra, and their ability to repopulate has tripled in efficiency.  Potent miasma now oozes out of the land itself, and every living person or creature now inhabiting these lands has been changed into an undead version of themselves.  They have had their pillars altered to reflect this, with each of them given a choice between the following options and their sub-variants based on original race:  Ghoul, Skresh, Golem variants, Deathtouched Enlightened, Phantasmal, Abomination, Ravager, Skeletal, Zombie, Necrofisa, Ravenous, Hungerer, Blighted, Horror, and Neverlight.  Other resident vampires have been unaffected by this change.]

[Worldwide Message:  New OPTIONAL World Quest (7): Eradicate the Angel of Death, Allie Thane.  Your world has birthed an extremely rare variant of undead, an Angel of Death.  Allowing her to reign throughout the integration will no doubt lead to further terraforming of this planet, and she represents a potent danger to all those who are living.  This quest goes out to all other world quest antagonists as well.  The prize for delivering a killing blow to Allie Thane before the 5 year integration time limit is up will inherit her fledgling divinity in a form of your choosing, allowing your own ascension and the start of a path into future godhood.  Guild mercenary options will reflect an increased ability and lowered cost to acquire off-world holy warriors in the pursuit of this crusade, as long as the guild owner is not undead, and the intended target is perceived as truly being Allie Thane by Elysium’s Administrator.]

[57 combat levels partially gained and partially granted.]

[You have obtained the Rank 1 Apex Position on the Power Ladder of Panu.  The Legendary status marker has been applied to your identification information.]

[You have been labeled an Apostate by The Blood God.  All other worshipers of the Blood God will be notified of this when looking upon you.]

[You have acquired the race Angel of Death, and have begun your transcendance into divine origins. +10,000 additional minion slots.  Undead minions that are non-sentient now only cost 1 Willpower to control.  Feral mindless undead will not attack you unless provoked, and may be commanded to do your bidding to a very limited extent even outside of your normal minion slots if they are masterless.  Your affinity to the Death Sub-Pillar has been increased to 101%, and you are now able to increase it even further with each step of transcending divinity that you take.  You gain the other traits:

• Phantasmal (allows warping in and out of the Ether and Void at will),
• Legion Commander (allows for far more intricate control of minions at an individual level despite the number you have),
• Profane Angelic Wings (enables flight at the expense of mana, stamina, or divinity),
• Deathly Halo (your very presence inspires, passively heals, and empowers fellow undead nearby, and your charisma vastly amplifies itself when concerning fellow undead - inspiring worship.  You are also able to terraform land in favor of the Undead should you wish to do so.),
• Body of True Death (Upgrades your Death Sub-Pillar to the True Death Specialized Sub-Pillar, +30% to all stats, +100 Flat Points to all stats aside Charisma.  -20,000 stat points applied to Charisma.  Souls can seek refuge in your body and make your inner world a place they call home.  Your soul apparatus has been modified to house souls and is now considered an inner world that can be manipulated in time),
• Eyes of the Phantom Angel (allows you to peer into the ether and void at all times in conjunction with your normal sight), and:
• Angel’s Phantom Touch (Allows you to completely resurrect allies by physically dragging their souls back into the world with your phantasmal body aspect.  Does not require activation of an ability.  This is contingent on being able to find their souls before they’re swallowed and lost to the afterlife, or finding them again once they’ve already been lost).]

[You have been labeled a Hero of Death by The Scythe, in hopes that you will serve him.  This title amplifies all Death abilities by 10% effectiveness, and empowers all undead under your control by 20% to all stats.  An open branch of communication, directly linked to The Scythe, has been applied to your status page so that you may converse with him for more details.  All followers of The Scythe will be notified of this title upon seeing you.  With this title, he also grants you a relic E-grade Divine weapon.]

[Blade of Soulcry (Divine Claymore, E-Grade, Death Attuned): ???]

Allie paused her reading of the numerous notifications when a pale light illuminated the air in front of where she hovered.  Her new wings instinctively extended, and the hundreds of souls slowly swarming around her reverently came closer to embrace her - almost tentatively - though their warm intentions bled through their thoughts when her mind embraced them back.

A long claymore, shifting with pale light hovered in the air before her at a horizontal angle.  Her gray eyes glowed just like the weapon did, taking in every detail of the claymore as her bone gauntlet reached out and touched it with a finger.

It was exquisite, made from a dark gray metal with a single elongated rune alone the entirety of the blade’s middle - twisting and turning but not breaking the lines creating it while glowing a bright neon teal.

Her finger tapped the blade again, causing it to respond to her with another flare of energy, and the afterimage of her movements showed her phantasmal soul trailing behind.  Her wings flexed and extended again, getting a feel for them and smiling at the way her soul trailed behind her physical body even there - with her hair flowing around her and underneath the glowing gray halo.

Looking up and meeting the stares of her friends and allies, she saw each of them slowly take a knee - then bow - the effects of her new presence completely capturing their attention and instilling a sense of reverence in them.

Hesitantly, Allie willed herself to move forward - and without more than a twitch of her black wings she flew ahead to where the three bodies of her necromancers now lay.  Their remains were unscathed from her own eradication of the enemy, whereas the vampire precursors were now only piles of ash and bone, and she stared out at their still present souls that had yet to recede into the afterlife - hovering over their bodies as if asking to be let back in.

They weren’t quite yet sentient in this state, during this transition, not like the swarm of souls gently embracing her now - but it did not matter.  The transitory phase was about to end, as she took each of them with extensions of her own soul and quietly pushed each of them back into their bodies.  Pushing energy through her soul’s newly acquired True Death Specialty Sub-Pillar, a mix of deep grays, blacks and teals - the power flowed into her halo next and started to rapidly mend the bodies underneath.

Two ghouls and a skresh, necromancers of the necropolis, let out gasps and hissing sounds simultaneously while their bodies mended under the influence of her halo.

“The beginning of a new era…” Mara hissed under her breath while kneeling, reverence in her eyes while staring, star-struck, up at her best friend.  “Your excellency!  I do not have the words to describe these feelings!  You are… majestic!”

Allie shifted her gaze, and she took her skull mask off with a warm smile just when a final notification appeared ahead of her.  “Don’t talk to me like that Mara.  You’re my best friend, and I won’t have my best friend treating me like I’m above them.”

[New system quest dispensed:  Conquer Panu.  You have been publicly denounced by the Blood God as an Apostate, have angered almost every vampiric faction in the entire multiverse, and have already been marked for death on the public forums by numerous other factions across your planet.  Having instilled a deepest fear in the minds of the living, and having given hope to the sentient undead of your world, you are destined to be hunted down - or alternatively you will rise from the ashes of war as a hero to your people.  Will you and your kind be eradicated from Panu’s surface?  Or will you conquer this planet and claim it for yourself?  You have until the 5 year time limit of integration to take over at least 80% of this planet for yourself.  If you accomplish this, you will gain Elysium’s direct and absolute protection from outside invaders for an additional 100 years, will gain a shroud that stops other outside forces from scrying your planet’s location for 500 years, and will allow you to reposition your newly conquered planet anywhere within the multiverse a single time at the end of integration.]